More In Jobs

‘Shadow Scholar’ Is Writing a Book on Cheating

Bloomsbury USA has signed “Ed Dante” to write a book about cheating in American higher education. Dante, “the Shadow Scholar,” described his experiences writing student papers for hire in November in a much-discussed article in The Chronicle Review.

Dante said last week that he has set up a Web site, eddante.com, so he could have conversations with students and professors and gather material for the book. “Students, parents, faculty, administrators, as well as the American public, are all invited to join the discussion,” he says on the site. “Send me the questions you would like me to raise for general discussion. Share with us your own personal experiences. If you have solutions, send them along and we’ll see what others think.”

Dante, a pseudonym for a writer living on the East Coast, has quit his job at a custom-essay company so he can write his book. He plans to reveal his identity when the book is published in the fall of 2012.

“Eddante.com starts from the premise that students truly want to learn and faculty truly want to teach, but that there is a disconnect between what each group sees as valuable, educational and worthy of effort,” he says on the site. “I want to find out why.”

“If the article is any indication, I expect people to be forthcoming,” he said in an interview. “My position is that I want this conversation to transcend the defensiveness, where people were sniping at me and at each other about who is to blame. I want to raise the level of discussion.”—Liz McMillen